Sunday, January 31, 2010

Doctor Who: "The End of Time: Part 2" - Just realized I never covered this after seeing it. Well... let's see... I enjoyed the intensity of the Time Lords, and how the Doctor described them as they were at the end of the Time War. I do wonder who that woman was that Wilf and the Doctor both saw, and yes, I know who she is "supposed" to be. But future writers aren't stuck with that. Longest regeneration ever! To be honest, it made me want to rewatch all of Tennant's run. Maybe I will.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Sidekicks Assemble" - Aqualad! I hoped that at the end all three characters would change into their "adult" outfits: Tempest and Arsenal along with Nightwing. But this ending wasn't too bad.

Ghost Hunters International: "Quarantine" - The gang goes to Sydney Australia and visits the quarantine station where many people were isolated in sickness and died. Again, a very cool place, but not a lot of evidence. EVPs do not convince me, nor do pictures that could just as easily be shadows.

Heroes: "The Art of Deception" - Samuel is a manipulative jerk. Sylar is scary, and Matt did good. Pity Peter got involved. I so want Samuel to get what's coming to him. And annoying triplicate guy as well.

Ghost Hunters International: "Port Arthur Penitentiary" - Another great location, this one in Tasmania. I sometimes think of this show as almost a travel suggestion show. I'd love to visit that place. The evidence was again less than impressive, but just a *tiny bit* more convincing than usual.

Robin Hood: "Something Worth Fighting For, Part 1" - Oh, heartbreak is about to start. Wait, what do I mean, "about to"? It's started already with the end of this one. Ouch.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Clash of the Metal Men" - Opening sequence: EEEP! Didn't we get a previous "to be continued" with Starro? Oh, and introducing the Metal Men. Though, really, it's the opening that got me.

Numb3rs: "Devil Girl" - Another pretty cool episode. I was definitely squicked out by the description of how the first victim we are shown was found. Ick. The rest of the show wasn't quite as disturbing. I love how Colby seemed resigned to dealing with Nikki's machismo. His backward walk into the elevator was almost a highlight of the episode. I also liked Lazlo's motorcycle knowledge. Don needs a group like that.

This week's movie was Green Lantern: First Flight. It showed up as part of hero weekend on Cartoon Network, so hubby-Eric and I DVRed it and watched it. Fun stuff. Not exactly what I was expecting from the plot, but a nice reimagining of Green Lantern's origin. I like these movie efforts from DC, and would love to see a really good Aquaman one.

Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released January 13th 2010:

Super Friends #23 - I've always considered Aquaman to be a fish out of water in space stories, and that's one reason I really don't care for them. I'm just not a fan of DC's space books. And the Aquaman stories set in space don't impress me much either. But this one was fun, from the underwater escape to the comment about royalty. I just love this book, and want a lot more.

Incredibles #4 - I like seeing Dash deal without powers. How does he ever sit still through a school day anyway? Intriguing mystery, and I'm just waiting to see what happens next issue.

Doctor Who Ongoing #7 - Ah, an inside the TARDIS adventure. I'm not really sure about these companions... and maybe it's the artwork that is turning me off. I guess I'll have to wait and see how the next issue goes.

DMZ #49 - Oh Matty. Oh my. Not your finest moment.

My library book this week was The Dragons of Ordinary Farm by Tad Williams and Deborah Beale. Two typical kids get sent to the country for a summer on their great-uncle's farm. Oh man, I want more. I want much more. I want the next book right now. Hear that Tad? NOW! Ok... um... it's a nicely solid young adult novel, featuring a wonderful set of fantasy rules that will be a delight to learn more about. The characters are nicely developed from useful stereotypes to people you might want to hang out with. There is quite a bit about history and mathematics and deeper concepts. I'd give this to a curious kid and just watch as they started looking up some of the ideas presented to them. Definitely a good read, and worth getting a kid interested in if you've got a teen handy.

Agatha Christie this week was After the Funeral from 1953, also published as Funerals Are Fatal. A woman is viciously murdered after attending a family funeral. Oh man, she got me again! Completely and utterly fooled me. I saw the clues, I knew they had to mean something... heck, at one point she practically spells it out for the reader. But I missed it. Just totally and utterly failed to see it. GAH! I thought I had picked the murderer, thought the clues were supporting it overall, then BAM it's somebody else altogether. And she was careful, oh yes. I had to go back and reread a chapter to make sure she hadn't contradicted herself, and no... she most definitely hadn't. It was just worded so carefully that my mind filled in the blanks and got the wrong answer. ARGH! Oh yeah, is Poirot the original egghead? He's always described as having an egg-shaped head and using his little grey cells.